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Two on Red Hat, Dell Cybersecurity Conference

PCWorld: Is Linux the Key to Securing Cyberspace?

"Because users can more readily customize open source code,
software like Linux offers security options not always or easily
available in proprietary technology, several attendees noted.

'For security in an Internet world, I have to have control of my
server,' said Bill Caelli, a professor of software engineering in
Queensland, Australia. 'Gone are the days of where I know where my
software is coming from.'

"In an open source system, one can repair and improve systems as
needed, Caelli said. With a closed system like Microsoft's
proprietary operating systems, 'we cannot make incremental changes
in security infrastructure...'"

"'Open source allows us the opportunity to have a pro-active and
pre-emptive identification of security holes by friendly analysis,'
said Ken Linker of the Defense Information Systems Agency. He read
the written presentation of Robert Walker, the program manager for
the agency, which runs the software for a large portion of the
department's command-and-control systems.

"'As a result, this early identification and rapid repair of
security vulnerabilities has become a major advantage of open
source over more proprietary approaches to software development,'
Linker read. The presentation was replete with positive references
to the security advantages of open-source software..."